Method of and apparatus for mining thin-vein coal



A. SMITH 23,383

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MINING THIN VEIN COAL Aug. 6, 1929.

Filed July 22, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet l ATM/20714; Smif/ L b wflgww hi s ad'far-neq A. SMITH Aug. 6, 1929.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MINING THIN VEIN COAL Filed July 22, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 V Amhony Sm/f/z b aw Aug. 6, 1929.

A. SMITH 1,723,383

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MINING THIN VEIN COAL Filed July 22, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 5

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INVENTOR Awf/zowy Sm/f/z by his anwrne y Aug. 6, 1929. A. SMITH 1,723,333

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MINING THIN VEIN COAL Filed July 22, 1925 -4 Sheeis-Shet, 4

INVENTOR Patented Aug. 6, 1929.

UNITED STATES,

1,723,383 PATENT OFFICE.

ANTHONY SMITH, OF WEST KITTANNIN G, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO BR BUFFINGTON AND ONE-THIRD TO E. E. LAWSON, BOTH OF KITTANNING,

PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MINING THIN-VEIN COAL.

Application filed July 22, 1925.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for the mining of coal.

In coal mines which have seams or veins of coal which are relatively thin, that is which are four feet or less in vertical. e7- tent, a serious problem is encountered in removing the coal from the face afterthe coal has been shot down, and in transporting such coal to and loading it at the entry. As the mine entry, which contains the track, and the cars for transporting coal to the pit mouth and tipple, is made with ample head room, the coal may be easily handled when once brought to the entry. The difliculty, however, is in transporting the coal from the face of the working in the chamber to the cars in the entry.

This is because the chamber, as it is driven into the vein, has a height equal only to the height of the coal itself, thus allowing so little head room as to render it impossible to introduce cars into the chamber and as to render shovelling of the coal difficult.

Various methods of transporting shot coal from the face of a chamber, and various forms of scoop for taking up such coal, have been devised and utilized. For certain mining operations, however, all such previous methods and apparatus have been unsatisfactory; because they did not provide for an easy and rapid removal of shot coal from the face of the chamber, and did not provide a scoop which would operate successfully on shot coal occurring in lumps of various sizes, to take it up, to transport the coal to the entry, and to conveniently discharge it into the waiting cars therein.

One object of the invention is therefore to provide a simple method for removing shot coal from the face of a chamber having small head room, placing such coal. in condition to be readily taken up by a scoop, transporting such coal to the entry of the working, and conveniently discharging such coal into cars in the entry.

Another object of the invention is to provide a scoop which will take up a maximum quantity of coal, occurring in lumps of varying size, which will transport this coal any desired distance, and which will discharge the coal readily into a car.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through the working of a low vein coal mine, illustrating Serial No. 45,200.

the first step in the method of the present mvention, before shooting the coal; Figure 2 IS a horizontal sectional view through the working showing a portion of the coal pulled away from the face of the chamber in positlon to be taken up and transported to the entry of the working; Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view through the working, showing the operation of taking up coal for transportation through the chamber to the entry of the working; Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view illustrating a slightly modified arrangement for the taking up of coal adjacent the face; Figure 5 is a plan view of one of the sleds used for dragging shot coal from the face of the chamber; Figure 6 is a plan view of the scoop used to take up and transport coal to the entry of the working; Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view through the scoop showing it in charging position; and Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view through the entry of the working, a car therein, and the scoop showing the discharge of the coal into the car,

and showing the parts of the scoop in conveying and discharging position.

In the accompanying drawings reference numeral 1 designates the entry of the working, having a car 2 on tracks 3 therein; and reference numeral 4. designates the chamber from which coal has been taken, and having the face 5 upon which mining operations are being conducted.

In the stage of operations shown in Figure 1 of the drawings all preparations have been made for shooting down the coal, that is the face has been drilled at 6 and undercut at 7. In the undercut 7 are inserted a plurality of sleds 8. These sleds are of simple construction and comprise merely side angle irons 9 with cross angle irons 9 bolted or riveted thereto, as shown in Figure 5 of the drawings.

At the stage of operations shown in Fig- .ure 2 of the drawings, the coal hasbeen shot and the face 5 broken down. As shown in this figure, some of the coal has been pulled away from the face. To effect this latter object, a hook 10 on one portion of a suitable line 11 is inserted through the chain 12 of one of the sleds 8. The line 11 is-onehalf of a double line 31 passing over hoisting drums 13, which are mounted in a chamber 14 adjacent the entry 1, and which are continued'with each of the sleds 8, until all oftheshotcoal has been moved the desired distance from the solid coal remaining in the face.

' As shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, the sleds have been setat a slight angle in the undercut 7, so that the coal is pulled toward the center-of the chamber to form a loose, and rather widely distributed,pile 16.

At the stage of the operation shown in Figure 3 of the drawings, the shot coal on entry 1.

the face has been entirely pulled down, and a scoop of special design is being utilized to take up this coal and transport it to the For this purpose, screw jacks 17 I are setup between the floor and roof of the chamber adjacent the face 5. To these jacks are hooked pulleys 18 on a double line 31 passing to the hoist 13. The motor 15 is then used to actuate the hoist 13 and to run the scoop 19 into the pile 16. When the scoophas taken up its load of coal, the hoist 13 is reversed, and the loaded scoop is drawn back to the entry 1 of the working.

' The scoop 19 is of special form, and receives its load of coal in a novel manner. The scoop, which is illustrated in detail in Figures ,6, 7 and 8 of the drawings, comprises relatively heavy vertical side members or runners 20, and straps 21, which are disposed'at the upper portion of the side memhere or runners and have on each end lugs" 22 bolted orriveted' to the side members. Adjacent the forward extremity and upper edge of the scoop is a cross shaft 23, on which swinging door 24 is pivotally mounted. Stop lugs 25 on the inner surface of the runners 20, prevent the door 24 from swinging outwardly beyond the forward extremity of the runners. To the upper extremity of i the door 24 is secured a bar 26 having therein an eye 27 Onthe inner sides of each of the runners 20 adjacent their rearward extremities are eye-bolts 28, to which are secured balancing chains 29 which are also connected to a ring 30.

' Inpursuing the method with this scoop, one portion of the line 31 is secured to the eye 27 on the door, and the other portion is secured to the ring 30 at the rear of the v scoop. Connecting the eye 27 and ring 30 is a rope or chain 32. In carrying out the method, the action of the hoisting drum 13 causes the scoop 19 to be run into the pile of coal, the heavy runners 20 tending to cut down through the mass of coal to the floor. During this action the forward pull of rope 31 on the upper extremity of the door or gate 24 causes it to be held open, so that the scoop is pushed through the coal. When the scoop 19 has taken on a sufiicient load of coal, the action of the hoisting drum 13 is reversed,'to draw the scoop through the chamber to the entry of the working. On this reversed movement, the other end of line 31 acts on the door 24 through connection 32 to close the door and bring its lower extremity into contact with the stops 25. During this mover.

ment the angular setting of the door 24 with reference to the side members 20, permits coal in thescoop to exert a force on the door tending to maintain it in closed position. With the parts in this position the scoop is drawn throughv the chamber '4 to the entry 1.

At the point of discharge in the entry, is a heavy metallic plate 33, which has hinged thereto a second plate 34 arranged to extend over the tracks 3 in the entry. A similar hinged plate 35'on the opposite side of the entry, adjacent the hoisting drum 13, is secured to a beam 36 or the like.' In preparation for the loading of cars from the scoop, the hinged plates 34 and 35 are raised, and suitable supporting means such as a cross beam 37 is placed beneath them to support them in elevated position.'

When, therefore, the scoop has received its load of coal in the chamber it is drawn by the hoist 13 on to the plate 33 and in.

position to extend partially beyond the hinged plate'34. As the scoop 19 has no bottom, the coal which has been dragged along the floor of the chamber by it falls into the car 2. After a certain portion of the coal has been discharged from'the scoop, the hoist may be operated to draw the scoop entirely over the car, so that its forward extremity rests on the plate 35. When the scoop has been fully discharged, the operation of the hoisting drum is reversed, and another load of coal is'ta-ken up in the chamber 4. The loading and unloading of the scoop continues until all the coal shot down has beenremoved, and the chamber has been thus cleared for another operation on the face 5. v

When a train ofcars has been loaded, the beams 37 or other supportingmeans for the hinged plates 34 and 35, areremoved and the plates are allowed to drop down over the side walls of the entry; This avoids possi bility of scrapingcoal from piles in loaded cars and also avoids possibility of injury to passengers in other strings of cars.

7 Figure 4 of the drawings illustrates a slight modification in the stop of taking up coal from the floor of the chamber4. As

shown in this figure of the drawings, a plurality of screw jacks 17 are set up adjacent the face of the coal. With a plurality of jacks so set up there is no initial attempt to drag the coal toward a central pile in the chamber, but it is merely dragged from the face a sufficient distance to permit it to be readily picked up by the scoop.

In removing coal with this modified arrangement, the pulleys 18 or. line are removed from one jack to another, as a floor area covered by the movement of the scoop is cleared of coal. As some of the screw jacks 17 are so set that the scoop ill be pulled at an angle in taking up coal and in its passage back to the entry, balancing means are provided for straightening out the passage of the scoop at a suflicient dis tance from the face 5 of the chamber. Such means comprise pulleys, or rings, 37 through which line 31 is passed. These rings, or pulleys are detachably supported by hooks 38 on suitable supports 39, which may be screw jacks or the roof props for the chamber.

The method and apparatusof the present invention permit a rapid and continuous unloading and delivery of coal which has been shot down from a thin vein. They economize in time and also in labor, since the work or few men is required to clean out the chamber after a shot has been made.

Sleds have previously been inserted in the undercut of the face of a coal vein, and it has been attempted to convey the coal all the way to the point of delivery on such sleds. This is unsatisfactory because it is not possible to provide sleds which will receive all the coal shot down, and which will convey such coal to the point of delivery. Scoops of various forms have also been used in conveying coal. The method of the present invention, however, comprises the step of dragging shot coal from the face by means of rough sleds, and thereafter taking up and delivering this detached coal by means of a power operated scoop.

Obviously the form of scoop shown, and the general method of its use, may be employed to deliver coal to any form of receptacle or conveyor equally as well as to the mine cars shown herein.

lVhat I claim is:

1. Apparatus for receiving and conveying material c mprising a movable receptacle, two hinged plate members arranged to be swung into horizontal alignment to form a platform to overlie the receptacle, means for supporting the plate members in said position, a coal delivery space between the two plate members in their horizontal position, a power actuated hoist, and a. bottomless scoop arranged to be actuated by said hoist and to be rcciprocated and unloaded above the receptacle.

2. Apparatus for receiving and conveying material comprising a movable receptacle, two hinged plate members arranged to be swung into horizontalalignment to form a platform to overlie the receptacle, means for slqiport ng the plate members in said posi' said means being removable to allow d plate members to swing out of the path of the receptacle, a power actuated hoist, and a bottomless scoop arranged to be ctuated by said hoist and to be reciprocated and unloaded between said plate members in their horizontal position.

3. An unloading platform for bottomless scoops comprising two hinged plate members, means for supporting said members in horizontal alignment, said means being removable to allow the plate members to swing down when not in use, and a region for coal to drop between said plates in their horizontal position.

In witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand.

ANTHONY SMITH. 

